Obama budget to propose 215 program cuts, consolidations

Apr. 10, 2013 - 10:44AM
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Projected savings related to 215 program cuts and consolidations in the president's budget proposal would amount to more than $25 billion in savings next year, OMB Controller Danny Werfel said in a Tuesday post on the agency's official blog. (Military Times)

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The Obama administration will propose 215 program cuts, consolidations and other savings as part of its fiscal 2014 budget request set for release Wednesday, according to the Office of Management and Budget.

The projected savings would amount to more than $25 billion next year, OMB Controller Danny Werfel said in a Tuesday post on the agency’s official blog.

Among the proposals is a plan to streamline and reorganize more than 40 programs that deliver job training and employment services, Werfel said, with a goal of making it easier for Americans to find a job or improve their skills to get a better one. The White House wants, for example, to create a “universal displaced worker” program that would provide a set of core services drawn from two more narrowly targeted programs, he said.

The administration is also seeking to consolidate approximately 220 science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs into four main areas: K-12 instruction; undergraduate education; graduate fellowships; and informal education activities that take place outside the classroom. The proposed reorganization would consolidate or restructure more than half of those programs, Werfel said.

He also cited the Government Accountability Office’s third annual report, released April 9, that detailed duplication, overlap and fragmentation across government. Werfel said Congress and the executive branch have made progress in 104 out of 131 areas singled out by GAO as plagued by program duplication and overlap. The administration is now analyzing a new set of recommendations by the GAO in its latest update, Werfel said.